EAST BEATS WEST

The 46th edition of the 3A-4A East vs West All-Star Football Game started slowly on Saturday under leaden northwest skies. The offense for both teams sputtered at first and it appeared that the game would be a defensive battle. Then the clouds parted and the cool wind gave way to blue skies and sunshine that bathed the Everett Memorial Stadium playing field and fans. With the sun and warmth came the offense that one expects in this kind a game. With the running games of both teams struggling, the east took to the air. QB’s Austin Dodge (Skyview) and Travis Ward (Mt. Spokane) played pitch and catch with 6’6″ wide receiver, Mitch Saylor (Union) and slowly broke the game open.

A contest that was still close at halftime, began to get away in the second half. The 28-9 final score was not entirely indicative of the game. The west running game, for example, showed promise with Larry Dixon (Olympic) and Trenton Pinson (Federal Way) leading the way with several nice bursts before stalling. But, the east’s superior passing game, at least on this day, was too much to overcome.

Like all these all-star type contests, however, this was not about the final score. It was about the one last chance for these players to play a high school game and to play it against the best.

It was all about the pageantry of the event, so superbly hosted each year by the Washington State Coaches Association and the wealth of volunteers who make it all possible.

It was about the friendships developed on and off the field.

It was about learning. One thing they learned is that geography is sometimes subjective. For example: the East team had 9 players from the eastside and 21 players from the westside.

But, most of all, it was about having fun and it was clear to see all week during practices and then in the final game that have fun they did. The coaches, who impressed us all week with their ability to turn everything into a teaching moment, made sure of that.

Like all all-star contests, there were a few extra awards presented.

An MVP was chosen for each team. Not surprisingly, WR Mitch Saylor was the east MVP. DE Nick Rouser (Oak Harbor) was a beast all day and was picked the west MVP.

Two other awards were presented during the game. These awards, the Lynn Rosenbach and Tony Whitefield Awards were given to given to a player from each side who “symbolized dedication, attitude, sportsmanship and athletic ability,” during the entire week. The winner of the Rosenbach Award was Bennett Bontemps from (Rogers of Puyallup) and Aaron Moetului (Mount Si) took home the Whitefield Award. Congratulations to both.

The 2010 All-Star game is over, but the reporting is not! High School Cover 2 has additional information garnered during the game which we will be posting over the next few days. Stay tuned for what we learned during this exciting week.